Solitude

A Solitary Request

I ran around my apartment like a mad man, moving breakable items out the way and somewhere Zeus couldn't reach. Loki was no help. He just sat on the sofa, watching me struggle.

The problem with moving things out the way and out of Zeus' reach, is that I'm hardly above five foot. I'm tiny, I'm basically a toddler, and I need a chair which I have to climb on with my knees to be able to stand on, to be able to store some of the items away.

"You could help Loki." I call out to him from the kitchen, placing my hands on my hips.

Jumping off the sofa, he trudges to me, stretching his legs and body out half way. He sits by my feet, tilting his head adorably to the side, cocking his ears.

"What if I tell Zeus that you were being extremely unhelpful? Would he want to play with you then?" I chatiste gently, raising my eyebrow at him.

He huffs and looks down. A few seconds later, he walks back in to the living room and stares up at my coffee table in the middle of the room, between the tv stand and the sofa.

A vase of champagne silk flowers sits on top of the table.

A gasp escapes my lips and I curse myself for not noticing that. I run and pick it up, depositing on the drawers in my bedroom.

"Well done Loki. I shall not mention anything to Zeus." I pat his head at the exact same time my door knocks.

Loki's head perks up and he jumps up slightly. Grinning, I run to the door and open it, my smile widening at the sight of the horse and the giant on the other side.

"Hi! Welcome. Come in to mine and Loki's apartment." I open the door wider and they walk in.

Alex lets Zeus off his lead and he immediately bounds to Loki while Alex glances around at my apartment.

"Nice... place."

I glance around as well. Everything was simple and plain, minimalistic, mostly made of of neutral colours.

"Thanks." I smile. I watch Zeus and Loki for a minute. Loki is jumping up at Zeus, nipping his legs gently then lying down while Zeus kicks his face and bounces around, waiting for Loki to jump back up at him. I turn my attention back to Alex who's still looking around the apartment, standing with his hands stuffed in his suit trouser pockets, rocking back on his heels.

I didn't know how to act with him around. In my mind I had it figured out. Ask him to watch a movie, both of us sit at opposite ends of the sofa and keep my eyes on the movie so it looks like I'm so interested and he won't try to talk.

Say it. Just say it Oaklee.

"We could watch a movie if you want."

"Um..."

"Or you could leave and do your work. You look uncomfortable." I laugh lightly.

Is it bad I hope he leaves?

He nods and glances at Zeus. "I'll pick him up at six?"

"Yep." He nods, handing me Zeus' lead and leaves. I wasn't panicked or anxious when he was in my apartment, just uncomfortable, but now that he has gone, I felt much more relief. My muscles released themselves from their locking and the air felt a lot cleaner and lighter, easier to breathe.

I let the two dogs play, sitting on my sofa and working on my book, sometimes watching while they run around the small space.

I thought Zeus was huge before but in my apartment, one that is quite small but not crowded with furniture, it looks like he has doubled in size. His marmalade fur stands out against the ivory, cream, sand, nude and light grey furniture.

I didn't like crisp white or dark colours, they were too extreme and harsh, not allowing me to fully relax in my own home. My anxiety took different forms and that was one of them, only being able to have certain colours that brought calmness with them.

After about a couple of hours, I shut my laptop and shrugged on my coat and boots. Loki knew what time it was so he stopped playing and sat in front of me, waiting for me to put his lead on.

"Good boy Loki." I whisper to him, letting his head. I look over at Zeus who's still standing on the other side of the living room. I pick up his lead from the coffee table. "Zeus. Here."

He ignores me. He sees the lead in my hand and bounds to me, jumping up excitedly. His front legs land on my shoulders, his height surpassing mine. I thought he was a giant before... but now... I have to crank my neck up to see his head. The force from his jump and his weight make me stumble back and I fall to the ground, groaning from his claws that scratched my shoulder and from my body smacking against the harwood floor.

Immediately, Loki darts to my side, calming me down in case my anxiety peaks. When he sees that I'm okay, he stands in front of me protectively, not allowing Zeus to come any closer.

"It's okay Loki." I soothe, rubbing my shoulder. "He just got excited. It's not his fault."

I stand, picking him Zeus' collar again. "Zeus, no. Sit down. Sit down." After bringing out my telling off voice, he whines slightly, half sitting down and standing up. "Good enough. We'll work on that."

Once we reach the canal I let Loki and Zeus off their leads. I rub my bicep with a slight grimace, he nearly pulled my arm off with his tugging.

Zeus sprints off, bounding down the pathway and through the trees on the one side and back out, drinking from the canal before running again. He's hyper, over excited and doesn't listen to a single word I say to him. He looks like a rubber band, bouncing back and forth and flinging himself forwards and to the side.

Meanwhile, Loki trots a few paces in front of myself. Every time he sees Zeus, he shakes his head and looks back at me as if to say 'get a load of this guy'.

Once we reach the field I kick the ball for Loki and decide to work with Zeus. Loki understands and trots around the field, smelling the grass and the skeletons that line the edge of it.

"Zeus." I hold his ball in front of me to catch his attention. "Sit down. Sit. Down." Surprisingly he sits so I grab his collar. "Stay."

I throw the ball at from me. Zeus stays, his eyes on the ball and his tail slapping against the ground. A small whine leaves his mouth.

"Stay."

Hesitantly, I release his collar and he stands up a little, crouching. "Stay."

I continue for another few minutes before releasing him and he instantly sprints for the ball, diving on to the ground and rolling around, playing and gnawing at the tennis ball.

Zeus just needs encouragement and training, he needs authority and someone to be patient with him.

Alex picks Zeus up at six, exactly on the dot. He looks the exact same as when I last saw him; dark blue suit, matching tie knotted right at the neck, his hair in the same twisted tangles.

"Alex." I smile hesitantly as he turns around. "Are you still having problems with you dog walker?"

"Yes." He replies gruffly, eyeing my suspiciously.

I grin. "I can look after Zeus if you want. You can bring him here every day, I'll look after him and take him on walks. Even try train him a little bit."

The surprise is evident on his face. He glances around the apartment again before meeting my eyes. "How much?"

"Excuse me?" I tilt my head in confusion.

"You want the same pay as my dog walker?" He asks impatiently.

"Why would I want the same pay as your dog walker?"

He rolls his eyes, his jaw flexing. "So what? You'll do it for free?"

"Yes." I nod, smiling. "I work from home and I really like Zeus, even when he's attacking me. Loki likes him and I don't mind having him here while I work and I don't mind taking him out. He's no trouble."

"Oh..." He glances around the apartment again, quickly looking down at Zeus on the lead and back at me. "Same time tomorrow?"

"Great!"